Universally mounted coupling part for tractor-trailer fifth-wheels



Oct. 27, 1959 T, GEORG] 2,910,305

UNIVERSALLY MOUNTED COUPLING PART- FOR TRACTOR-TRAILER FIFTH-WHEELSOrlginal Flled April 5, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 MMM Oct. 27, 1959 T.GEoRGl 2,910,306

Y UNIVERSALLY MOUNTED COUPLING PART FOR TRACTOR-TRAILER FIFTH-WHEELSOrlginal Filed April 3, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mf Aw/ AAM/f United StatesPatent O UNIVERSALLY MOUNTED CUPLING PART FOR TRACTOR-TRAILERFIFTH-WHEELS Theodor Georgi, Hilden, Rhineland, Germany, assignor toJost Werke Josef Stehgass G.m.b.H., Neu-Isenburg, Germany, acorporationof Germany Original application April 3, 1957, Serial No. 650,332,

now Patent No. 2,838,326, dated June 10, 1958. Divided andthis`application April 8, 1958, Serial No. 727,137

9 Claims. (ci. 28o-438)' This is a division of my application Serial No.650,332,

led April 3, 19157, now Patent No. 21,838,326.

Semitrailer couplings conventionally comprise a slotted fifth; wheelattached to the upper side of the rear por tion of a truck or tractorand a coupling pin extending downwardly from the lower side of the frontportion of a trailer, said pin being releasably connected with theslotted fifth wheel tocouple the tractor and trailer together when thepin is engaged inthe iifth wheel slot. Different means have been devisedfor locking. the two coupling parts, i.e. the slotted fth wheel andthecoupling pin, in position, my Patent No. 2,838,326- being` di rected toone such locking mechanism.

It is one object of the present invention to provide a coupling` partmounting eliminating heavy moments of torsion about the longitudinalaXis of the vehicle occurring on relativeV movement between the trailerand the tractor, which frequently have caused breaking of the` coupling.

It is another object of this invention toomake the couplingy connectionabout the longitudinal axis of the truck train flexible and preferablyto make this flexibility adjustable.

rrhese and` other objects and advantages of the invention areaccomplished by mounting one of the two coupling parts constituting abiaXial, articulated connection on a transverse pendulum or rockingshaft which provides flexibility about the longitudinal axis of theconnection- The pendulum shaft has two trunnions at its ends which aremounted in crank journals connected to the one coupling part andpositioned in a common plane while facing in opposite directions.

Further advantages and features of the invention will be disclosed inthe following detailed description of certain preferred embodimentsthereof which are illustrated by way` of example inthe accompanyingdrawing wherein:

Fig. l is a horizontal section along line I-l of Fig. 2 showing oneembodiment of' the invention;

Fig. 2 isa vertical section along line II-II of Fig. 1;

Figs, 3 and' 4 illustrate details of the mounting, viewed in thedirection of travel, in different operating positions;

Fig. 5 shows a side View of one detail of the mounting to illustrate themovement of the pendulum shaft;

Fig. 6 is a side View of a tractor and trailer connected by a couplingincorporating anotherembodirnent of the invention; and

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section along line VII-VII of o bracket has` acrank journalo, the two journals being parallel to: each other andtilted in respect of brackets 4. Trunnions 6 are mounted on the end webs7 of the pendulurn or rockin-g shaft 8- to support the shaft in thecrank journals 5.- The pivots or trunnions 6 lie on common axis 9 whichis inclined relative to the plane ofv symmetry of the coupling. Whentheshaft 8 is rotated about axis 9 on trunnions 6., it will rock back andforth in a pendulummovement. The fifth wheel or platform` 10 with itsking or coupling pin entry slot 11 is pivotally mounted on shaft 8. bymeans of bearing brackets 12. Thebearing brackets 12 are mounted onshaft 8 by means of sleeves 13 and are secured to the fifth wheel.. Thecoupling of a king pin with the slotted fifth wheel forms no part of thepresent invention and is, therefore, not further described andillustrated, one such structure being disclosed' and claimed in myabove-mentioned application.

The rocking or pendulum movement of shaft 8 may be limited or completelyeliminated by the following` mechamsm:

Pivotal bifurcated follower members 14 are mounted on base plate 2 bymeans of bolts 15. The followers 14 are movable to cooperate with theirheads 16 with a ilat camming surface 17' on the underside of end webs 7of the shaft S. When the heads 16 engage the camming surfaces 17 of theend webs of the shaft (see Fig. 3),` the shaft is locked in horizontalposition and cannot rock back and forth.

The position of the followers 14 is controlled by lever 18 which ispivoted on the base plate 2 by means ofbolt 19 secured to the plate bynut 20. A transversely slotted arcuate stop plate 21 is mounted on thebase plate by bolts 22 secured with nuts 23 to permit the lever 18 to bearrested in predetermined positions. For this purpose, stop 24 islongitudinally slidably mounted on the lever and may be moved along thelever by handle 25 connected to stop 24 by wire or rod 26. Depending onthe position of lever 18, stop: Z4 engages respective transverseV slots27 provided near the respective ends of the stop plate 21. The inner endof lever 18 carries yoke 28 carrying pins 29 at its respective ends.Pins 29 cooperate withI and slidein slots 30 in the follower members 14to form a sliding coupling which transmits the pivotal movement of thellever 18 to the followers whereby the followers either block the lateralrocking movement of shaft 8` entirely, partially or not at all. WhileFig. 3 illustrates the blocked shaft condition, Fig. 4 shows the lever18 moved over so that the shaft `8 is no longer jammed and may `rockfrom side to'side about the plane of symmetry ofthe coupling. Fig. 5illustratesan intermediate position in which the follower head 16 formsa stop for end webs 7 so that the shaft may' rock from the positionindicated in broken lines to the position indicated in full lines..

The control of the pendulum or rocking movement of the fifthA wheelmounting shaft 8- is designedv for use on rough cross-country rides.Under such conditions, the lever 18 will be moved so that the shaft mayrock freely from side to side (Fig. 4) whereby the fifth wheel 10 mayfollow the corresponding lateral rocking movement of the trailer whichis coupled thereto and supported thereby. When the truck train rides ona good road, the rocking movement is blocked by jamming the shaft S intothe position of Fig. 3. An intermediate position permitting some rockingof the fifth wheel is possible, as shown in Fig. 5. j

As shown in Fig. l, the bearing pivots 15 for follower members 14 areoffset in longitudinaldirection. This arrangement has the eiect that theyoke 23 engages the ,i followers 14- with a larger lever moment in theblocking` position shown in Fig. l than in the released position shownin Fig. 4. Therefore, the force exerted upon the followers increases inthe blocking position while the manual force exerted on lever 18 remainsconstant.y

i Another rocking mounting for a coupling part is illustrated in Figs. 6and 7. As shown, a fixed platform or fifth wheel 101 is mounted ontractor chassis 1 while a movable platform 100 is mounted on theunderside of trailer 108. The king or coupling pin 100 is lixedlyconnected to the platform 100. The king pin is inserted into entry slot111 of the fixed fifth wheel 101 where it is locked in any suitablemanner to couple the tractor 1 and trailer 108, the trailer beingsupported on platforms 101 and 100. The pivotal platform 100 carries theshaft 103 journaled in sleeve 102 which is mounted on the platform bybearings 109. In its normal position, the shaft is inclined in respectof the plane of symmetry of the vehicle, as shown in Fig. 7. Shaft 103has offset bearing arms 104 with studs 105 which are journalled lin thebearing brackets 107, studs 105 being coaxial, as shown by axis 106. Thebearing brackets 107 are xedly secured to the underside of the frontportion of the trailer 108 (see Fig. 6).

versal mounting for one of said coupling parts and comprising atransverse rocking shaft fixedly connected to and supporting said onecoupling part, the shaft being perpendicular to the plane of symmetry ofthe coupling, a crank including a trunnion fixedly connected to eachouter end of said shaft, the trunnions being positioned on a common axiswhich is inclined in respect of the plane of symmetry of thecoupling,'whereby said shaft is universally rotatable about alongitudinal and vertical axis, two fixed crank journalspivotallyrsupporting said shaft trunnions, said crank journals beingpositioned in parallel planes perpendicular to the common axis of thetrunnions and the cranks lying in parallel planes and ex- When shaft 103is pivoted about its longitudinal axis, y

the bearing Aarms 104 will rock from side to side on their coaxialpivots 105, which corresponds to the pendulum movement of shaft 8 in theembodiment of Figs. 1 5. It will be obvious to those skilled in the artthat this rocking movement may be blocked by the same means asillustrated in connection with the other embodiment.

While the invention has been described specifically in connection with acoupling between a tractor and a trailer, 'it will be obvious to theskilled in the art that it is applicable to any biaxial, articulatedcoupling comprising two coupling parts which are connected,respectively, to a body which pulls and another body which is pulledtbythe first body.

What is claimed is:

1. A mounting for a coupling constituted by two coupling parts, saidmounting comprising, in combination, a transverse rocking shaft fixedlyconnected to and supporting one of said coupling parts, a crankincluding a trunnion fixedly connected to each outer end of said shaft,the trunnions being positioned on a common axis of the rocking shaft,two fixed crank journals pivotally supporting said shaft trunnions,whereby said shaft is universally rotatable about a longitudinal andvertical axis, said crank journals being positioned in parallel planesperpendicular to the common axis of the trunnions and the crank lying inparallel planes and extending in opposite directions from the rockingshaft.

2. The mounting of claim l, comprising an arresting mechanism forcontrolling the universal rotation of the rocking shaft and includingdisplaceable follower members, and said cranks have flattened surfaceportions, the displaceable follower members being arranged for selectivecooperation with said flattened surface portions of the cranks.

3. The mounting of claim 2, further comprising two two-armed leverscarrying said follower members, a pivoting device and means for couplingthe levers to the pivoting device.

4. The mounting of claim 3, wherein the two-armed levers are mountedlongitudinally offset from each other, the pivoting device includinganother two-armed lever having a respective arm coupled to a respectiveone of said first-named two-armed levers. 5`. The mounting of claim 2,wherein the follower members areshaped for engagement with the flattenedsurface portions of the cranks in an intermediate position to limit thestroke of the rocking movement of the shaft.

In a semitrailer coupling constituting a detachable, biaxial,articulated connection between two coupling parts mounted, respectively,on a tractor and a trailer: a unitending in opposite directions from therocking shaft, and means for securing the crank journals to that bodyselected from the tractor` and trailer to which said one coupling partis connected.

7. In a semitrailer coupling constituting a detachable, biaxial,articulated connection between two coupling parts mounted, respectively,on a tractor and a trailer: a universal mounting for one of saidcoupling parts and comprising a transverse rocking shaft fixedlyconnected to and supporting said one lcoupling part, the shaft beinginclined in respect of the plane of symmetry of the coupling, a crankincluding a trunnion xedly connected to each outer end of said shaft,the trunnions being positioned on a common axis which is perpendicularto the plane of symmetry of the coupling, whereby said shaft isuniversally rotatable about a longitudinal and vertical axis, two fixedcrank journals pivotally supporting said shaft trunnions, said crankjournals being positioned in parallel planes perpendicular to the commonaxis of the trunnions and the cranks lying in parallel planes andextending in opposite directions from the rocking shaft, and means forsecuring the crank journals to that body selected from the tractor andtrailer to which said one coupling part is connected.

8. A mounting for a coupling constituted by two coupling parts, saidmounting comprising, in combination, a transverse rocking shaft fixedlyconnected to and supporting one of said coupling parts, the rockingshaft being perpendicular to a plane of symmetry of the coupling, acrank including a trunnion xedly connected to each outer end of saidshaft, the trunnions being positioned in a common axis inclined inrespect of said plane, two fixed crank journals pivotally supportingsaid shaft trunnions, whereby said shaft is universally rotatable abouta lonl gitudinal and vertical axis, said crank journals being positionedin parallel planes perpendicular to the common axis of the trunnions andthe cranks lying in parallel planes and extending in opposite directionsfrom the rocking shaft.

9. A mounting for a coupling constituted by two coupling parts, saidmounting comprising, in combination, a transverse rocking shaft fixedlyconnected to and supporting one of said coupling parts,` the rockingshaft being inclined in respect of a plane of symmetry of the coupling,a crank including a trunnion` xedly connected to each outer end-of saidshaft, the trunnions being positioned in a common axis perpendicular tosaid plane, two iixedvcrank journals pivotally supporting said shafttrunnions, whereby said shaft is universally rotatable about alongitudinal and vertical axis, said crank journals being positioned inparallel planes perpendicular to the cornmon axis of the trunnions andthe cranks lying in parallel planes and extending in opposite directionsfrom the rocking shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,933,622 Fellows Nov. 7, 1933 2,618,488 Ketel Nov. 18, 1952 2,667,364Colpo Ian. 26.11954

